Best mid-range phones to buy in 2022 | Radio Times

That “flagship killer” term is often used to describe a smartphone with high-end features but a pleasingly affordable price point. It may well be a cliché in 2022 – but it’s undeniable that many mid-range handsets are more than up to the fight.

Yes, the days of having to pay £1000 outright for a premium smartphone are gone. Tech has moved at a blistering pace, and you can easily get high-resolution screens, lengthy battery life and next-generation connectivity for half that price.

In terms of what top-line specs are now on offer, the mid-range smartphones that are the best today are essentially just the flagship phones of the (very recent) past.

What was once the domain of top-tier devices – OLED displays, high refresh rates and 5G – are now available not only on the devices that make up our best smartphone list but even the ones that fall into the best budget smartphone territory.

Sitting in between those two extremes are the mid-rangers, all-rounders that give off a premium-like experience for much less upfront cost. This is a vast category that’s surprisingly complex. It’s broad and can arguably contain phones priced anywhere between the £250 and £600 mark, typically when bought outright and unlocked.

Considering investing in an Apple device? Read our iPhone 13 vs iPhone 12 guide to see how the flagships compare, and here's our iPhone 13 review.

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How to choose the best mid-range phone

Luckily, due to the broad mid-range category, there’s a lot of options for both brand and budget. Here are some tips on how to choose the right model for you.

Still, unsure which model to go for? Don't worry – we have got you covered. Our expert reviewers have tested a variety of handsets in this popular category – at a range of prices. So here are the best mid-range smartphones that you can buy in 2022.

Best mid-range phones at a glance

Best mid-range phones in 2022

Apple iPhone SE (2nd gen), from £389

Best mid-range iOS experience

Pros

Cons

Key features

At just under £400, the second-generation iPhone SE is the best option if you want an iOS experience without paying a premium for a newer model such as the iPhone 12. Released in 2020, the 4.7-inch SE has an older design, weaker battery life and a slightly more dated screen – but it retains many of the key iOS features, such as Siri, iMessage and FaceTime. We found the camera setup to be pretty good, too.

As our expert tester, Natalya Paul, wrote in our in-depth Apple iPhone SE (2nd gen) review: “The SE (2nd gen) is a smaller and more basic version of the 2020 iPhone line-up. It comes with many of the same features, but for a fraction of the price.”

Certain that you want an iPhone? Head over to our best iPhone guide to see how other models compare to the iPhone SE.

Buy the Apple iPhone SE (2nd gen):

Google Pixel 4a 5G, £499

Best mid-range Android experience

Pros

Cons

Key features

There are multiple handsets in the current Google Pixel range – the Pixel 4a (From £349), the Pixel 4a 5G (from £499) and the flagship Pixel 5 (from £599). In terms of the best mid-range, you will be more than safe with either the 4a or 4a 5G – and we are only choosing the 5G variant as it’s slightly more futureproof. The camera is stunning, and the phone has great update support, solid battery life and a large screen. With the Google Pixel 6 incoming this year, the 4a 5G may be about to get cheaper.

As we wrote in our full Google Pixel 4a 5G review: “[It] is a good alternative to… the Samsung Galaxy S21. It takes excellent photos, is powerful enough for most people, isn’t too large or heavy and has a bigger screen than the Pixel 5 or Pixel 4a.”

Buy the Google Pixel 4a 5G:

OnePlus Nord CE 5G, £299

Best mid-range all-rounder

Pros

Cons

Key features

OnePlus made its name with so-called flagship killers, and the OnePlus Nord CE is a 5G-enabled phone that offers a premium feel for well under £500. The 6.43-inch OLED screen has a 90HZ refresh rate for smooth scrolling, while the 4500mAh battery capacity will easily keep you going through the day. It's not perfect, however, and we deducted some points in our OnePlus Nord CE 5G review for its plastic construction and it is more expensive than some key rivals. For a more premium mid-range experience, we advise looking in the direction of the fantastic OnePlus 8T 5G.

Buy the OnePlus Nord CE 5G:

Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro, £269

Great budget option

Pros

Cons

Key features

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro will certainly be one of the smartphones that skim along the edge between budget and mid-range, coming in at around £250. There’s a lot we loved about the handset during our hands-on testing, including the large OLED screen, a premium glass back, solid cameras and two-day battery life. It doesn’t have 5G, but this is a great option if budget is your main priority. If you want to spend slightly more cash for 5G, consider the £345 Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G.

But as we noted in our full Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro review: “The [handset] is almost certainly one of the best value phones of 2022. If you are a demanding phone buyer who wants as much for your cash as possible, you can’t do much better.”

Buy the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro:

POCO F3 5G, £329

Best affordable 5G mid-range

Pros

Cons

Key features

The Poco F3 5G, which is from a sub-brand of top Chinese phone maker Xiaomi, has a fantastic variety of top-end features that would be just as suited to a much more expensive handset: a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G processor, a 120Hz refresh rate, a 4520mAh battery, an AI-powered triple camera setup and Dolby Atmos dual speakers. It comes in three colours, but we recommend either the black or white versions to avoid the larger Poco branding that is found on the “deep ocean blue” model. Regardless of colour, it's still a great mid-range smartphone for the price.

In our guide to the best Android phone, we praised the POCO F3 5G as being the best option for sheer value, specifically loving its strong gaming performance and top quality screen. As we wrote: "This phone is something of a money-saving maverick."

Buy the POCO F3 5G SIM-free:

Moto Edge 20, £429.99

Best Motorola mid-range handset

Pros

Cons

Key features

The Motorola Edge 20 has some flagship-worthy features without the flagship price tag. For well under £500, it gives you an OLED screen with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz – meaning scrolling websites and social media is smooth and lag-free. As we noted in our Motorola Edge 20 review, the flat-edged handset lacks some of the thrills of those expensive rivals but does more than enough to justify its price tag – with a solid camera, battery life and minimalistic frosted colour scheme. It has 5G connectivity, although it lacks some features like wireless charging.

Buy the Motorola Edge 20:

Oppo Find X3 Lite 5G, £379

Best mid-range phone by Oppo

Pros

Cons

Key features

The Find X3 Lite 5G from Oppo, a brand that is owned by Chinese tech giant BBK Electronics, which also oversees OnePlus and Realme, is a great Android phone for under £400. It not only has 5G but also boasts a 90 Hz refresh rate, fast charging, a quad-camera set-up, a glass back frame and a nice 6.4 inch AMOLED screen. The only big aspects missing are water or dust resistance and wireless charging.

As we noted in our Oppo Find X3 Lite 5G review: “As part of Oppo’s flagship series, we were expecting a lot… And while it doesn’t have the bells and whistles of the Pro model, it is a solid smartphone that delivers well on everything it offers.”

Buy the Oppo Find X3 Lite 5G:

Motorola Moto g100, £449.99

Best for mid-range power specs

Pros

Cons

Key features

While Motorola offers a wide range of smartphones that are typically on the more affordable side of the spectrum, the G100 actually stands out as a bit of a beast. At a little over £400, it runs on Android 11, has a strong Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 5G chipset, a large 5000mAh battery and boasts a 64 MP triple camera setup. The 6.7" display has a 90Hz refresh rate – great for web browsing and gaming. In the UK, the Moto g100 comes with a “Ready for” stand – intended for added productivity as it can help the smartphone to be hooked up to an external monitor and keyboard.

Due to its powerful specs, we awarded the Moto g100 the title of "best for gaming" in our buyer's guide to the best Motorola phones.

Buy the Motorola Moto g100:

Honor 50, £449.99

Best mid-range display

Pros:

Cons:

We loved the curved 120Hz display of the Honor 50. Twinned with its sleek design, it makes the handset stand out from the mid-range crowd.

Unfortunately, some of the other features don't measure up to the premium look and feel of the Honor 50. The camera, for example, lags behind some competing mid-rangers in terms of performance, despite packing in a huge 108MP main camera.

The user interface is not market-leading either and goes up against some tough competition in the mid-range space, especially from the likes of Google and OnePlus. For more info, take a look at our full Honor 50 review.

Buy the Honor 50:

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